Remaining Badlands Entities To Cease Operations After Recent State Ruling

Posted September 23, 2017

On November 8th, 2016 a ballot initiative passed in South Dakota to limit all short term lending to 36% APR. This measure passed 76% to 24% and ended a 14+ year run for Dollar Loan Center. Customers kept calling DLC seeking short term cash solutions. Dollar Loan Center immediately got to work developing a lending product that would conform with the new law requirements.

In June 2017, DLC contacted the Division of Banking fully disclosing the new loan product. In July DLC launched this same product. Customers were excited and grateful. The events that followed were completely unprecedented. On September 13, 2017 DLC was shocked by the reckless actions taken by the State’s Division of Banking. With no advance notice to DLC, the media was alerted that DLC’s lending licenses were revoked by the Division of Banking. Shortly thereafter, DLC received the same written communication that was first released to the media. DLC has been in full compliance with the order to immediately stop lending money as well as stopping collection on all DLC loans. DLC does not agree with the order especially as it regards the ability to collect on previous loans however, compliance is mandatory. We remain confident, along with our entire legal team, in DLC’s compliance.

In 2015 Chuck Brennan and his team launched a massive community enhancement project called Badlands. This project included the best Race track and outdoor amphitheater ever built in the Midwest. It included a 70,000 square foot "Pawn Shop" that had a foundry, tattoo parlor, deli, gun range, gun store, concert venue, music department, casino, house band, entertainment group, radio station and retail store. It created the best Rock station ever in Sioux Falls in KBAD with #1 ratings for 18 months in a row. It created a state of the art Gun Store with an indoor 14 lane shooting range allowing members of law enforcement to shoot for free. At costs of over $75,000,000 spent mostly with South Dakota businesses, and providing over 400 jobs, it made a major impact

Building off of the success of DLC operations, Chuck was excited to reinvest profits in South Dakota. Badlands Speedway, Gun World, and KBAD remained open as DLC worked to develop a lending product that would allow us to become fully operational so we could continue to reinvest in the community.

While we would like to resolve the current issues quickly, we expect that the costs and time constraints of litigation will be considerable. Without the financial support of Dollar Loan Center, and with an unknown time line, we must make difficult business decisions.

Effective immediately we are permanently closing the Badlands Entities and putting all of the properties and assets on the market for sale. We owe a great deal of gratitude to our team, the loyal customers, and the incredible number of South Dakotan’s that helped bring this project to life. We are optimistic that we will find some new owners for all of these properties, entities, and assets so that the folks will continue to invest in the economic future of Sioux Falls.